The Lost Project: New Opportunities, New Album, New Adventures and Everything In Between

Whether you believe in fate or not, there’s no denying that timing can be a wonderful thing. For The Lost Project, timing was of the essence.

The trio had originally been planning on releasing their 5th album, “Far From Where You Are” around May 30 of this year but came across the opportunity of a life time.

The Opportunity

“It’s definitely an honor and it came together so quickly,” bassist for the group, Jacob Guerrero told Sobre Sound. “One day we got an email out of the blue from the Majestic Empire saying they were putting together the Two Ten Series and they wanted us to be a part of it… We had all these ideas as far as venues but nothing was set in stone. So the Empire emailed us and we had to seize the opportunity.”

The band said that one of the members planning the Two Ten Series had heard their music and suggested them. The trio told the Empire when they were planning on releasing their new album, and now The Lost Project is set to kick off the beginning of the Two Ten Series with their album release Friday, June 5 at 9 p.m. at the historic Empire Theatre alongside their friends Pop Pistol.

“They’ve worked with us to bring it all together. It’s amazing because that place is very prestigious and big. We’re probably the first band who’s going to do an album release there,” said Jason Valdez, guitarist and vocalist of the band half joking. “We can’t confirm that but not too many local bands have even played there.”

The Album

The Lost Project is not so much lost as it is an eclectic mix of sounds that varies throughout albums. Started back in 2010 by brothers Nick and Jason Valdez their first album, is paved with Ska attributes with some Strokes likeness.

Their newest album titled “Far From Where You Are”, is a great title because in comparison to their first record “Where It Begins”, the band has evolved and progressed.

The band said the album was done with the premise of “The beat gets you moving but the melody gets you remembering.”

“This album was pieced together from songs that we had been playing for a couple of years like when we started, some were just idea that we were jamming on. When we decided we were going to do a full length, we got songs that we liked that weren’t finished. But there were a couple of songs that we already had that we have been playing for a few years already so when it came down to it we were like ‘Let’s just do 11 songs’, 3 instrumentals and the rest was just what we felt comfortable with.” Jason said.

Their newest album is a mix of inspiration throughout a wide range of music. Though the band is a trio and keeps the minimalistic traits, they all come from different musical backgrounds. Nick Valdez who play drums for the band finds most of his inspiration from Jazz and blues and Rx Bandits, Jacob who joined the band five months before the recording of the new album, comes from a punk/metal background while Jason finds inspiration from bands such as The Kooks and Mad Caddies.

“We usually come with the majority of an idea and then we’ll all piece it together.” Jason explained about the process.

“Far From Where You Are” has a tone of optimism. Songs such as “Drifting” have elements of closure and letting go, while songs like “Tides” still have a hint of the old Lost Project.

“I think we definitely bring a lot of the jazz and instrumental stuff that we listen to a lot more. I think this album is less Ska. If you listen to the old Lost Project there’s a lot of the Ska build and that’s cool, but I think we’re trying to do… a different direction,” Jacob said on the topic of bringing different characteristics together. “Like all these [new] songs, they don’t really have Ska and it’s not that we don’t like playing Ska, it’s just that all these songs put together so well that we were able to get away from it, but you can definitely hear more melodies in pretty much any song.”

“The element [Ska] is something we really like but I feel like we’re all too musically inclined to stick to one genre. We already have some ideas for future albums, it’s probably going to get a little more progressive.” Jason said.

“You got to give it a chance!” Jason says about the album. “Don’t think that it’s Ska, it’s a common misconception of our band, it hinders us but it definitely helps us in the longer run. It’s not really themed as a specific album. The Lost Project is a collection of different songs and ideas and the album is definitely that. It’s just really something that’s very eclectic, every song has its own theme and there is a song for anybody in the album.”

The Tour

Almost immediately after the release of "Far From Where You Are", The Lost Project will tour in support of the new record beginning June 13 at the Phantom Room. The tour lasts a little over three weeks along the east coast in which the ultimate goal is to “get to New York” according to the band. Unfortunately Jacob will not be participating in the tour but will have Nick Federico from Fish Brain filling in.

Despite the fact that their new album derives away from Ska music, Jason admits that a few of the gigs booked because they play Ska music where the scene for the genre is especially heavy in Florida.

Jason has been hard at work booking the entire tour himself with some help from other local musicians such as Nina Diaz.

“It’s just like getting a job,” Jason said explaining the process behind booking everything in a DIY style. “We have the degree, you have the answers and they say ‘Do you have any experience here?’ and that’s where like 90 percent of shows just fall off because they’re like ‘Oh, well you’ve never played here. Too bad. It sucks but I feel like if you could just get past the hump of getting there once.”

With the tour and the new album coming out, Jason says it’s like a snowball effect making it a huge push for the band. “It’s very exciting because it’s all new, even though the experience is there, it’s all new.”

As for what is next for the Lost Project, they plan on releasing a punk album soon with six hours of recording that they won through a battle of the bands.

The Lost Project kicks off the Two Ten Series on Friday June 5 at 9 p.m. at the Empire with Pop Pistol. The album is included with entrance fee of $10. If you RSVP-ed or biked to the show, it's $5 for admission & the album is available for purchase for $5.